Electronic devices, including handheld electronic devices and portable computers, have gained widespread use. With the advances in their technologies, the size and the weight of the electronic devices, and in particular portable devices, have decreased dramatically. Latest models of laptop computers, for example, can easily be carried in a backpack or even in a large purse. At the same time, the number of functionalities performed by the portable devices has increased. In recent years, handheld devices such as smartphones are not only able to perform the common functions of a phone, but can also perform many of the functionalities that were traditionally reserved for other devices such as computers, cameras, or audio players.
Due to the small size, low weight, and versatility of portable devices, users often carry their devices with them all the time, and use those devices in a wide variety of surroundings. However, conventional devices have not been designed to adapt to changes in the surroundings. For example, when a user who is reading a document on the handheld device moves from a dark room to a bright outdoor location, the user often loses the ability to see the information displayed on the screen. Similarly, if a user who is conversing or listening to music on a handheld device walks from a quiet place to a noisy environment, the user will have a hard time hearing the sound of the device and sometimes has to manually readjust the volume level of the device. As another example, when a user is typing on a laptop, if the surroundings get dark, the user may not be able to see the keyboard. Some conventional devices provide a backlight for the keyboard, but the backlight needs to be manually activated by the user. Also, activating the backlight itself often requires seeing the keyboard, which is the problem to begin with. Sometimes, even while the surroundings remain dark, the backlight turns off automatically and requires reactivation.
Moreover, while conventional devices may have many settings, most must be set by a user and therefore remain the same until the user makes a change. During the period of use, however, users will go through a wide variety of personal moods and the same settings may not have equal appeal to the user at different times and types of use. For example, a user may be happy while exchanging emails or chatting with a friend and may later become sad or upset after reading some unpleasant news. The device's display background, outer appearance (such as color or lighting), and other settings nevertheless remain static throughout these mood changes, without manual intervention by the user.
Further, conventional devices lack the ability to adjust the appearance of foreground objects on the display based on other changes made on the device. For example, when a user changes the background of the device display by choosing one of the pre-set backgrounds or by choosing another background, such as a new photo, the colors and lightings in various areas of the display change but the objects in the foreground, e.g., the icons, control buttons, or application windows, are often shown in specific previously-set styles, colors, or brightness which may not match the background aesthetically or provide good contrast with the background. Therefore, the combination of the new background and the foreground objects may make the foreground objects difficult to see or may create an unpleasant aesthetic experience for the user.